About A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy
New Yorkers and their histories are deeply connected to the founding of our nation and the continuing evolution of our democracy. The roots of abolition, women's suffrage, and civil rights movements are in New York soil. Five US Presidents were born and raised in New York. New York ranks third in our nation in welcoming new Americans. The stories inherent in the collections of our museums and these interwoven historical and political factors come together to make 12 New York museums ideal locations for an exemplary Humanities Discussion Series connected to the National Endowment for the Humanities' "A More Perfect Union" initiative.
"A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy" Humanities Discussion programs will explore the context and main controversies behind our democratic system including the principles and events that inspired the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the struggle for civil rights, voting rights, and equal participation in our democracy; the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens; and the formal and informal processes of our political systems.
This project will support the work of 12 museums and their communities as they explore, reflect on, and tell the story of their role in the evolution of American democracy. The Smithsonian exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America which is a launching point for the project, includes historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival videos; engaging multimedia interactives; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material. The rotating exhibition will be installed for six weeks at each of the 12 museums from March 2024 through January 2026.
The NEH funded programs will include the development of and installation of a response exhibition by each of the 12 participating museums, a lecture by a project scholar, a Community Conversation discussion and training led by Humanities New York, a workshop for local teachers supported by the New York State Museum staff, and the collection of oral stories from the communities with the help from OurStoryBridge.
About Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
The Museum Association of New York (MANY) is New York State’s representative to the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program, an outreach program of the Smithsonian Institution Travel Exhibition Service that brings traveling exhibitions, educational resources, and programming across America to communities through local museums, historical societies, and other cultural venues.
Voices and Votes is adapted from the exhibition American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. This traveling exhibition includes many of the same dynamic features as American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith such as: historical and contemporary photographs; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives, and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.
Voices and Votes exhibition themes include:
- The principles and events that inspired the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
- The struggle for voting rights and equal participation in our democracy
- Freedoms and responsibilities of citizens
- The formal and informal processes of our political systems; music, performance, and visual arts as expressions of democracy
- Protest and actions beyond the ballot including civil rights movements and the struggles of historically marginalized people; and supporting new American citizens.
About the Humanities Discussion Series Programs
Exhibition Sites
The 12 museums that are participating in this Agora project will be adding to the greater conversation introduced by the Voices and Votes exhibition. Each museum will be creating a response exhibition that pulls items from their collection that reflects their community’s role in the development and advancement of Democracy in America. They will also be hosting programs as opportunities for the communities to further engage in the subject of Democracy.
The exhibition is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about “Voices and Votes” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visit museumonmainstreet.org.
Support for MoMS has been provided by the U.S. Congress.
SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 70 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work. and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.